You know that feeling when you instinctively need to furiously head bang? Where the only way your body can emote is by some vicious thrusts of the neck? Yeah, that’s what happened when I started listening to the new Ghoul album, Dungeon Bastards. That shit is fierce.
Ghoul reminds me of GWAR with a dash of death metal sprinkled in. Their theatrics and the thrashy attitude harken back to the days when Beavis and Butt-Head dominated my nighttime television watch list. The Oakland based thrashers conceal their identities with burlap sacks reminiscent of Jason Vorhees’ infamous mask in Friday the 13th Part 2, which is just fucking brutal, but what makes them awesome is not just their gimmick– it’s the simple fact that these dudes can musically crush it. Not only do the musicians conceal their faces, they also conceal their real names. The musicians are simply known as Cremator (Bass, Vocals), Digestor (Guitar, Vocals), Dissector (Guitar) and Fermentor (Drums, Vocals).
Ghoul reminds me of GWAR with a dash of death metal sprinkled in. Their theatrics and the thrashy attitude harken back to the days when Beavis and Butt-Head dominated my nighttime television watch list. The Oakland based thrashers conceal their identities with burlap sacks reminiscent of Jason Vorhees’ infamous mask in Friday the 13th Part 2, which is just fucking brutal, but what makes them awesome is not just their gimmick– it’s the simple fact that these dudes can musically crush it. Not only do the musicians conceal their faces, they also conceal their real names. The musicians are simply known as Cremator (Bass, Vocals), Digestor (Guitar, Vocals), Dissector (Guitar) and Fermentor (Drums, Vocals).
Dungeon Bastards kicks off with “Ghetto Blasters,” a simple, yet groovy instrumental that’ll get the blood pumping. Ghoul commence the aural bombardment with a couple of heavy hitters, “Bringer of War” and “Shred the Dead” that will give you a taste of the perfect balance Ghoul have accomplished to attain between thrash and death metal. The title track “Dungeon Bastards” pummels you while a sweet guitar solo in the middle of the song torches your hair off. The thrash anthem of the summer “Ghoulunatics” serves as a perfect calling card for Ghoul. It blends the speed of the thrash metal, with the attitude of punk rock and wraps up a nice and neat little package with the death metal vocals. The next track “Blood and Guts” sounds like GWAR and Carcass got together for one of the most awesome collaborations ever. The songs “Word is Law” is thrash to the core, from the rhythm to the clear-spoken vocals. The penultimate track on the album, “Guitarmageddon” is an awesome instrumental change-of-pace track, driven by Digestor and Dissector’s one-two punch, along with Fermentor coming up from behind with this double bass. Very nice touch. The ender of this album “Abominox” again showcases the awesomeness of Ghoul– like GWAR, they back up the gimmick with excellent musicianship and solid song writing.
Despite all the comparisons, Ghoul sounds totally original. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t discover or invent anything new, but they were able to take core metal concepts, stitch them together, and in the process create a KILLER album in Dungeon Bastards. //Arturo Padilla
Despite all the comparisons, Ghoul sounds totally original. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t discover or invent anything new, but they were able to take core metal concepts, stitch them together, and in the process create a KILLER album in Dungeon Bastards. //Arturo Padilla
